SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - If you think traffic in Mission Valley is bad now, wait until the area gets thousands of new homes and a shopping center.
Already, 320,000 San Diegans drive to the heart of Mission Valley on an average day, whether to shop or to work. But once the massive Civita housing and shopping development is complete, an estimated 50,000 additional cars will add to the congestion.
Monday, the City Council approved an environmental plan that paves the way for a four-lane connector from the north end of Mission Valley, in the Civita development, which has public roads, to the 805 entrance in Serra Mesa.
"San Diego's growing everyday and we got to get with the times," said Nadine Cyr, who lives just outside Mission Valley but drives there multiple times a week.
Now, the city plans to provide drivers like her an escape route to the traffic.That way, when the traffic builds up around Friars Road and to the south, drivers can head north right onto the 805.
Still, there are concerns.
A group of Civita residents say the roads in the area are too steep and winding for thousands of cars to use their walkable neighborhood as a shortcut. They say the connector should be used mainly for emergency vehicles.
But a city staff reportsays without the full connector, the roads in Mission Valley wouldn't be able to handle the increasing amount of cars on the way.
A spokesman for councilman Scott Sherman, whose district includes Mission Valley and Serra Mesa, says the hope is that the city can start working on the connector as soon as possible if the environmental plan passes. He said the connector would only require administrative approval.
